The Beginning… of Chapter Two

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted anything, for that I apologize. The normal repetition of the daily grind tends to wear one down a little, eating away at time and daily ambitions. Small tasks fall to the wayside as the focus is put on the larger goals at hand. To that I’m happy to tell you much progress has been made. Lots still to do but here is an update to get you all caught up, at least for now.

LaDonna and I have been working relentlessly to get ready for our new adventure together. At the time of writing this we are 3 weeks (possibly less) away from becoming mobile. A lot of work, preparation and on LaDonna’s side, minimizing, has been done since we posted the last video of Chapter One. So much has taken place yet it all seems like a blur and so much still has to be done, but we’re close.

We didn’t elaborate much on social media or even to family and friends as a.) we had to see how things were going to turn out with different aspects of this next adventure and b.) I needed to keep things on the down-low as to not spook my employer of the past 6 months with thoughts, loose plans and maybes. More on that later. Everyone is in the loop now though and things are moving forward.

Where have we been? Well, after I arrived back here in Kamloops to be with LaDonna many things were discussed, options weighed, ideas pushed forth and well, so much has happened. Some situations changed in LaDonna’s world which lead us to the decision to not pay rent on the large house her and her daughter were in after we found ourselves there alone. With only her and I and Lua we looked at various options. One of those options was for one or both of us to become camp host at a Provincial Park. We called about one opening, that was deemed filled but was offered another which actually turned out to be even better suited for us in many ways. LaDonna became one of two official Park Operators at Roche Lake Provincial Park which is also a paid position (“camp host” only is a volunteer position for a place to camp for the season). Roche Lake is a well known fishing lake about 30 minutes from Kamloops. With that brought the decision to start with “what we had” and become rent free nomads with no fixed address. What we had was my little 14ft vintage trailer, two vehicles and a whole lot of household stuff. So before heading to the lake LaDonna was tasked with minimizing her belongings. Garage sales, online classified ads and lots of hard decisions followed. She made the tough decisions required to move forward into this kind of lifestyle and I am so very proud of her. Minimizing isn’t easy.

So by mid April I had started my new job and we were up at the lake braving the spring temperatures, the rain, and on a couple of days the snow. I made the commute every morning into Kamloops and she started her Park Operator duties May 1. Soon after that she met one of the owners of the Roche Lake Resort which is about 1.5 kilometers further up the road from where we are parked. Being the amazing ray of light she is, she soon was offered another job there which she took part time.

Two of us and a 60 pound Springer Spaniel living in such a small space was at times challenging, but in retrospect we did better than I ever thought we could. We killed it! The small living space situation changed in August as we had enough money saved to start looking for our future RV road home. We found a 5th wheel with a layout that we both like and the same fellow also had his pickup for sale, so a package deal was made. Both are used, both are older but both in very good condition and well maintained. I think for what we spent we got a decent deal.

The old 14ft trailer was cleaned up nice and put up for sale. Early last week I helped a young fellow hitch it up and watched it disappear down the road. I think LaDonna was a little more emotional than I was, it’s been our VERY TINY home for the last 6 months. Sure, I put a lot of time and energy into it to get it ready for Chapter One but it was essentially a tool for a job, something to keep me warm and dry as I explored. Since we had already upgraded, I felt okay with it being passed on to a new adventurer.

I’ve given my job here the heads-up that we will be leaving town soon. There’s a good chance that I may be able to stay on and work remotely which would very much be a blessing. The extra income would relieve some pressure for our initial travels and expenses, plus it’s been a fun 6 months, I like the company and the people and do like what I’ve been doing.

So we’re just finishing up our obligations here, then we have to head into Alberta for some paperwork/vehicle stuff, hopefully a quick sale of Betty as she needs to find a new home now. I think however I may miss her a little more as we’ve been doing these trips together since day one. Every mile I’ve traveled, 4 trips to Burning Man, across Canada and back, two road-trips into the southwest states, so many memories. It’s time to move on though, time to set sail aboard a new ship. With any luck we “officially launch” the first or second week of November and start heading south, to warmer weather.

We have been shooting video here and there through all of this but honestly not as much as we should have. Again, back to those small tasks falling aside to allow the larger ones to happen. I’ll be trying to edit that footage in the coming month in a way that hopefully makes some sense. This blog will change a little, you’ll obviously see more reference to LaDonna and Lua and the majority of the videos will be of the three of us now, probably a good thing. We decided not to change the URL/branding too much as to not stifle any momentum I may have so far. Everything will simply evolve as we go. LaDonna also has her own creative outlet in a new venture/blog/Youtube channel coming soon. Watch for more at her website www.transientgoddess.com and be sure to follow her FB page.

Many new updates, places, people and things will be coming once we have had a chance to get going and catch our collective breaths. We can’t wait, and have so much to share.

As always thank you all for reading and following. It means the world to me/us.